At the Mercy of the Sea

<p>“The tale of Carl Wake and the hurricane that was waiting for him goes straight to the heart of the greatest sea stories: they are not about man against the sea but man against himself. John Kretschmer’s book is as perfectly shaped and flawlessly written as such a story can be. In addition to being the best depiction I have ever read of what it is like to be inside a hurricane at sea At the Mercy of the Sea is as moving a story of a man’s failure and redemption as can be found anywhere in the literature of the sea. This book is surely destined to become a classic.”—Peter Nichols author of <i>Sea Change</i> and <i>A Voyage for Madmen</i> <p>“John Kretschmer has transformed this story of three men on a collision course with a hurricane into a modern seafaring classic.”—Peter Nielsen editor of <i>SAIL</i> magazine <p>“With expert analysis and taut writing he draws readers into that mad storm. You can’t turn away. You keep reading until it breaks your heart.”—Fred Grimm columnist for the <i>Miami Herald</i> <p>“Once begun his vivid and powerful narrative is impossible to put down.”—Derek Lundy author of <i>Godforsaken Sea</i> and <i>The Way of a Ship</i> <p>“I felt I knew Carl Wake because John Kretschmer found in him an archetype—an aging sailor with an age-old dream.”—Jim Carrier transatlantic sailor and author of <i>The Ship and the Storm: Hurricane Mitch and the Loss of the Fantome</i> <p>“A remarkable book impossible to put down.”—Herb McCormick sailing journalist